Deimos Predator

The Deimos Pattern Predator Destructor, more simply known as the Deimos Predator, is one of the oldest variants of the standard Predator Destructor main battle tank used by the Adeptus Astartes of the 41st Millennium. The Deimos Predator is an ancient and revered design that dates back to the time of the Emperor of Mankind's Great Crusade, where it was used by the Space Marine Legions as they conquered the galaxy. There are as many variants of the Predator tank as there are of the Rhino chassis it is mounted upon.

The Deimos Predator differs from other Predator variants in that its turret and sponson-mounts are elegantly curved to the point that they are almost circular and the tank makes use of more advanced internal systems and support for technologies now lost to the Imperium. Each and every Deimos Predator was Artificer-crafted by the finest machine-wrights of the great forge-complexes of Mars. The Deimos Predator Destructor and its variants are haven't been constructed on a large scale, or at all, since the Age of Apostasy for the Chapters of the Space Marines and the Mars Pattern Predator is now used almost exclusively by the Adeptus Astartes. However, these vehicles still survive in the Armoury of many Chapters, revered as both relics of the long-forgotten past and as symbols of a Chapter's ancient heritage.

Deimos Predator Annihilator - The Annihilator Pattern of the Predator tank is a relatively new addition to the Imperium of Man's armoury, and was first introduced in the 36th Millennium. While the Deimos Predator is no longer constructed for the Adeptus Astartes, any Chapter that still maintains one in their armouries can easily modify it to the Deimos Predator Annihilator variant. The Annihilator variant is the same as the standard Deimos Predator, with the exception of its turret-mounted Autocannon being replaced with a set of twin-linkedLascannons. The Annihilator variant of the standard Predator Destructor, and the Deimos Predator Destructor, was originally conceived as a field-modification by the Space WolvesChapter, but after an intense investigation that lasted for over 200 standard years, it was found by the Adeptus Mechanicus that the replacement of the Autocannon with twin-linked Lascannons had been a feature found within the vehicle's original Standard Template Construct (STC) designs and thus the pattern became on officially recognised part of the Imperium's arsenal. It is unknown if this configuration was used during the Great Crusade by the Space Marine Legions as there is no evidence either supporting or denying its use.

Deimos Predator Executioner - The Deimos Predator Executioner, also known as the Predator Executioner, is the rarest variant of the Deimos Predator Destructor that replaces the vehicle's standard Autocannon with the rare Executioner pattern Plasma Destroyer. This variant of the Deimos Predator Destructor was commonly used by the Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade, but by the late 41st Millennium the Plasma Destroyer has become an extremely rare weapon that can only be built on the Forge World of Ryza, due to plasma technology being nearly lost to the Imperium. This variant of the Deimos Predator is able to to blast apart even the most powerful armour with contemptuous ease, yet as Ryza is the only source of advanced photo-plasmic cells that are needed to construct Plasma Weaponry, only a handful of these powerful tanks may ever make it into the hands of the Space MarineChapters that need them. The Executioner variant can also be armed with a Heavy Conversion Beamer, this turns the Deimos Executioner variant into a powerful siege tank and long-range tank destroyer, but this firepower is gained at the cost of maneuverability and increased vulnerability to short-range attacks. It is not recorded in available records if the Executioner variant is exclusive to the Deimos Pattern Predator or if any other Predator pattern, such as the Mars Pattern Mark IVb, which is the most common Predator pattern used in the late 41st Millennium, is capable of utilising the Executioner variant.

Deimos Predator Infernus - The Deimos Predator Infernus, also known as the Predator Infernus, is an uncommon variant of the standard Deimos Predator that replaces the vehicle's turret-mounted Autocannon with a Flamestorm Cannon. This vehicle, which is able to provide an excellent amount of close-range firepower, has been mostly replaced by the larger Land Raider Redeemer in many Chapters, yet Chapters such as the Crimson Fists, Fire Lords and Subjugators still value its close-range firepower when combating such xenos hordes as the Orks, and in particular it is seeing a resurgence amongst those Chapters that are fighting the Tyranid menace. The Infernus variant dates back to the Great Crusade where it was fielded by the Space Marine Legions as a relatively common vehicle in support of the Legion's ground infantry. The Predator Infernus is armed with two sponson-mounted weapons, one on each side, and these can be Heavy Bolters or Heavy Flamers, which gives the vehicle even more firepower against closely grouped enemies, or the vehicle can be equipped with anti-armour Lascannons instead. The Infernus is also able to replace its turret-mounted Flamestorm Cannon with a Magna-Melta, a devastating weapon originally intended for void-war boarding actions. The Magna-Melta gives the Predator Infernus a potent capability for close-range anti-armour superiority. It is not recorded in available records if the Infernus variant is exclusive to the Deimos Pattern Predator or if any other Predator pattern, such as the Mars Pattern Mark IVb, which is the most common Predator pattern used in the late 41st Millennium, is capable of utilising the Infernus variant.

Pict-capture of a Chaos Predator Battle Tank during the Siege of Vraks

As the Predator was used extensively by the Imperium's Space Marines since the age of the Great Crusade, it is therefore to be found within the ranks of the Traitor Legions and numerous Renegade Space Marine warbands. The Predator has been the armoured fist of the Traitors since the days of the Horus Heresy. As often re-built and modified as Chaos Predators are, there are numerous recorded incidences of them sporting additional secondary weapons, reinforced armour and rough-terrain modifications, and many are heavily adorned with trophies, blades, ramming spikes and further marked with the banners and fell iconography of the Chaos Gods. In some few cases, more extreme modifications and singular weapons fits have been reported, ranging from inbuilt sacrificial shrines to vehicles bedecked with a covering of still-twitching bodies somehow retaining some semblance of life. Others are equipped with command systems utilising technologies lost to the Imperium or long ago declared heretical. Those Predators found within the armouries of the Emperor's Space Marine Chapters are often clearly delineated into long established patterns such as the Destructor or Annihilator. Chaos Predators are far more individual however, each being a battle-scarred veteran of hundreds of campaigns. Each tank may have served many masters in its long and bloody history, claimed as the spoils of victory or taken in tribute from a defeated foe. With no Chapter cult or doctrine in place to prescribe or proscribe armament, livery or tactics, Predators in the service of Chaos Space Marine warbands are often as individual, idiosyncratic and as terrible in aspect as the champions of the Ruinous Powers themselves. Further to their long and bloody history, there are many accounts, both apocryphal and sealed under the veil of Inquisitorial authority, of Predator tanks operating under malefic influence, evidencing no crew, and surrounded by strange and unexplained phenomena. These hellish vehicles are said to act more in the manner of a living beast that hungers for the kill rather than any crewed machine of war, and appear able to shrug off damage more in the manner of a living being.